Seed the North: Fighting climate change, one sprout at a time

Grist News

May 22, 2021

Can an innovative approach to reforestation take root in British Columbia?

The secret life of soy

GreenBiz Group

May 21, 2021

Beef rightly gets attention when we think of the foods destroying South America’s forests, but the second-most important driver of deforestation is less known to people outside of food and agriculture. Perhaps that’s because it’s not something that ends up on our plate every meal — soy. Around three-quarters of global soy production is used to feed pigs, farmed fish, chickens and dairy

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Policy, not politics, will change America's meat habits

GreenBiz Group

April 30, 2021

As awareness of the climate impact of meat grows, a potential roadblock to cutting consumption is emerging: A culture war.  Conservatives and liberals have skirmished over this for several years. But earlier this week, another front opened up. It began with media reports that claimed — incorrectly — that President Joe Biden was about to force Americans to cut back on meat. Here’s

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Have you been doing environmentalism wrong?

Grist News

April 28, 2021

"The environment is really the only major global crisis that we assume you can solve from your kitchen."

Corn by-product used to clean water

Sustainability Matters

April 27, 2021

US researchers have found a way of recycling the by-product of corn and turning it into a material that helps clean water. About half the harvest — stalks, leaves, husks and cobs — remains as waste after the kernels have been stripped from the cobs. These leftovers, known as corn stover, have few commercial or industrial uses aside from burning. A study by the University of

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Hospital food waste fuels green electricity

Sustainability Matters

April 25, 2021

Epworth Richmond is participating in a three-year trial to turn food waste into fuel for green energy. As part of the trial, food offcuts are gathered from the hospital kitchen and dehydrated in a WasteMaster machine to create a powdered residue. The residue is then used as a fuel to generate green electricity at Yarra Valley Water’s anaerobic facility in Wollert. In the first 12 months of the trial

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Indoor farming funding heats up

GreenBiz Group

April 23, 2021

The billions of dollars flowing into indoor ag, followed by news of a big announcement in regenerative farming, is yet more evidence of the furious pace of change we’re seeing in food production. On the indoor side, the update comes in the form of details on a big vertical farm that the startup Plenty is building in Compton, California. The plans are impressive: The 95,000 square feet

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First GMO mosquitoes to be released in the Florida Keys

Grist News

April 17, 2021

The EPA approved Oxitec’s mosquitoes for release this spring. Some scientists and locals want to halt the deployment.

Beer waste gets a second life

Sustainability Matters

April 15, 2021

Beer making involves extracting flavour from barley and other grains, leaving behind a protein- and fibre-rich powder that is typically destined for cattle feed or landfill. But researchers from Virginia Polytechnic and State University have found a way to extract the protein and fibre from the spent grain and use it to create new types of protein sources and biofuels. The research will be presented at the spring

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The power of mushrooms to create healthier waterways

Sustainability Matters

April 12, 2021

A trial of a fungi-based floating wetlands solution to create healthier, cleaner waterways is underway at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. Affectionately known as ‘mushi’ (pronounced moo-shi), the three floating wetlands of interlocking triangular-shaped modules have been designed by local engineers, researchers and architects. Instead of using traditional plastic, this

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